Kamen Rider Orcinus
by Drake Dragonsoul
Summary: Thomas Heart is a paranoid and sarcastic lifeguard. He is also an orphan with no memory of his parents save the pendant he wears around his neck. One day he is attacked by a mysterious creature and the pendant is revealed as part of a weapon to destroy it
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to Kamen Rider with the exception of this fanfic and its characters.

Chapter 1

Guard your Life

It was a hot and humid night, the kind that Donald Ames looked forward to. The pool in his backyard saw plenty of use during the summer and he had already broken his record time from one end of the pool to the other. Tonight he hoped to shave off a few more seconds.

He gasped as he surfaced and picked up the digital wrist watch he had sitting by the side of the pool. He sighed as he saw his time hadn't improved at all.

A loud croak sounded nearby. He glanced around, puzzled since there shouldn't have been any frogs living in the suburbs. The croak sounded again, louder then before. A splash followed and Donald whirled around.

A large silhouette rose out of the water at the other end of the pool, another loud croak coming from it. Don screamed and grabbed hold of the pool's edge, pulling himself out, but the frog monster swam across the pool with frightening speed and laid a slimy hand on his back, pulling him back in.

The neighbors heard his scream and would call the police, who wouldn't show until early the next morning, roping the house off with yellow crime scene tape.

Detective Launders had been placed in charge of the case. After interviewing the neighbors, one of the younger officers had fetched him, insisting he look at the pool. The water in the pool had turned a lime green color and had a thin layer of mist rising from it. Donald Ames floated face down in the center of the pool.

"Looks to me like he should have used more chlorine," Launders muttered to himself.

"I hardly think that is the problem," Launders looked up to find a stone faced woman with black hair striding towards him. Her Asian-skinned flunky with the scar-covered face trailed her as usual.

"Care to explain what the problem is this time, Mary?" Launders asked.

"No, we're taking over as usual," Mary replied. She looked at the rest of the officers. "So you can all go reduce the donut population, or whatever it is you do."

Launders scowled and turned away, shouting orders at his men. Mary stood by and watched the police pack up and leave, Launders muttering grumpily the whole time.

"So it's a well digger this time?" the Asian-American asked when they were finally alone.

"A most unusual one it would appear," Mary said, glancing at the green liquid.

------------------------------

"No running!" Tom shouted, glaring down from atop the lifeguard's chair at the five-year old below. The infant of course ignored him and kept right on until he reached the ladder leading into the shallow end of the pool.

Tom sighed and reminded himself that it was only five more hours until quitting time. He leaned his elbow against the chair's arm and rested his chin against his fist, lazily watching the pool, behind him came the screaming of numerous guests as they rode the water slides, rafts, and various other water park attractions. The hot summer was doing Sea Zone a world of good.

The sandy haired youth could care less as he got paid the same no matter how many people visited the park. More people only made his job harder and more annoying.

For some reason, or other, Tom noticed a woman out of the crowd. She wasn't particularly attractive, looked too old for him, and he wasn't really looking around for a girlfriend anyway, so he guessed the thing that had drawn his attention was the muscled idiot male following her and generally seeming to annoy her.

Tom hopped down from the lifeguard stand and headed towards the two. He hid himself in the crowd so the man wouldn't notice him. After he had reached the two, he bumped into the man, who fortunately or maybe unfortunately was standing by the edge of the pool. He tripped and fell into the water with a not so masculine shriek of surprise.

"Sorry," Tom said and bent down to extend a hand to the man. The woman meanwhile looked surprised and didn't take advantage of the distraction to leave unfortunately. "I should have been watching where I was going."

The man sputtered in reply and accepted the helping hand out of the pool. He seemed no worse from the fall, so Tom turned and headed towards the poolside snack stand.

"Nice shot," Sandy commented as he strode up to her.

"Be quiet and get me a bag of Fritos," Tom said.

"Aye, captain!" Sandy remarked with a sarcastic salute. She grabbed the bag and tossed it at Tom, who caught it. "Now pay up."

"Nope," Tom replied, pulled the bag open and taking one of the chips. "You know I don't carry my wallet around here."

"Because with all the people around, you're afraid one of them is a pickpocket," Sandy rolled her eyes.

Tom turned and leaned against the counter, so he wouldn't have to endure Sandy's disbelieving expressions. "It's entirely possible. I'll reimburse you later."

"Whatever."

Tom watched the pool, briefly glancing at a splash fight that at first he thought might be one inept swimmer in need of rescue. He spotted a rather horribly-made rubber frogman making his way toward the pool.

"Looks like Paul's back," Sandy commented as she too spotted the frogman. The frogman shoved a group of tourists to the side. "And a bit grumpy. You want to go chew him out?"

"Me?" Tom sighed, crumpling up the Frito bag and tossing it into the trash. He started toward the lumbering frogman, who was still shoving people to the side and heading straight for the pool. Tom wondered for a moment what Paul's issue was and then grabbed the frogman's shoulder and spun him around.

Too late, Tom noticed the rubber suit felt strangely slimy. He also noted with a second glance at the "costume" that it while it bore a small resemblance to the entertainer's frog suits, there were several differences in this one. He concluded that either the costume department had gotten a bigger budget (unlikely), or he had just grabbed an actual frogman.

The frog croaked loudly, conforming Tom's second guess and then it slammed an oversized hand into his side and sent him flying through the air. He crashed into one of the folding lawn chairs.

Naturally, several people noticed the frogman's spectacular display of strength, came to a similar conclusion as Tom, began screaming and running for the exit, something the rest of the pool attendants quickly copied.

Except for two of them, one of them was the woman Tom had saved early and the other was an Asian guy dressed in a black coat. He drew some kind of silver high-tech pistol out of his coat and tossed it to his female companion. He then drew a second one for himself.

The two took careful aim and fired at the frog. Tom, who was directly behind the frog and trying to untangle himself from the lawn chair, feared he would be hit, but every shot was dead on. Too bad the shots only seemed to annoy Frogger. It turned and sprayed white foam out of its skin at both of them. Both rolled to the side and opened fire again. Frogger made a spectacular leap into the air and landed next to the woman, wrapping its hands around her neck.

"Mary!" the man shouted. Somewhere in the corner of his mind, Tom noticed that he had almost no accent.

The guy drew some kind of hunting knife out of a holster on his jacket. Tom thought the knife would be the kind of thing Rambo might envy. The knife was stabbed into Froggy's back, who released a pain-filled croak, before backhanding the man away, the knife still sticking out of the frog's back.

Tom gave the lawn chair a brutal kick as he finally freed his foot from it. He stood up and stared at the fight, which had degraded into the guy trying to pull the frog away from the woman.

Something clattered at Tom's feet, prompting him to look down. A white rectangular object lay at his feet. Gold and blue trimming covered the device. A lens covered over by black panels, which made it resembled a closed eye was in the middle of the device.

Tom looked up to see an older man standing next to him. He was dressed in a black business suit and had dark hair. "Use that with what's around your neck."

"What?" Tom asked. The only two things around his neck was his lifeguard's whistle, which he doubted was what the man meant. The other was an old necklace which he had since as long as he could remember.

Almost without thinking, he bent down and picked up the device, he grabbed the blue metal square that dangled from the cord around his neck with his other hand and yanked it off the cord. As he held the device near his waist, something grabbed it, prompting him to look down again and find blue and gold vines reaching from his waist to grab the sides of the object and pull it away. The vines formed into a gold and blue belt strap, while the rectangle became the belt buckle. A panel popped out from the side of the buckle's lens. The panel was just the right size to hold the necklace piece which Tom placed on it and then pushed it back into place. The lens opened, like an eyelid and blue light flashed out of it.

"Transform," an electronic voice issued from the device. A white mist covered Tom, and then a line of blue light moved down his body, replacing the mist with a suit of some kind. When the light reached his feet, it pulsed across the ground, sweeping the feet out from under the three nearby combatants.

All three stopped to stare at the being disturbing their fight. The suit Tom now wore didn't feel uncomfortable at all; rather it fit him like a second skin and even looked a bit organic. It was a blue and black color in varying patterns mostly, except for the white chest and the insides of his legs. Small fins extended from this part of his arm for mere ornamentation Tom guessed. His gloves contained webbing between the fingers.

He glanced at his reflection in the pool to find a helmet fully covering his head. Green lenses gazed back at him. The helmet was blue and black with white patches on the side resembling those of an orca whale. He also noticed a black fin coming out of his back, which of course resembled the fin of a killer whale. He noted the white patterns on his chest and legs also followed the same whale motif.

The blue square with the picture of an orca indented on it was visible through the belt buckle's eye.

Tom glanced up at the frog, which was trembling with an emotion he guessed to be rage. The creature leapt at him, but Tom stepped to the side and avoided it. It turned around and swung its oversized hand at him. Tom caught its hand and delivered several kicks into its stomach, before spinning it around and letting go, sending it crashing into the pool fence.

"Is that all you have?" Tom asked as the frog stood back up.

It answered by opening its mouth and shooting out its long tongue. The tongue wrapped around Tom's wrist. Tom planted his feet firmly and resisted the yank of the frog's tongue then he grabbed the tongue and yanked on it for himself. Froggy stumbled forwards and into Tom's fist. The tongue released Tom's arm after that.

Tom leapt forward, thrusting out both feet for a flying kick, but the frog leapt into the air, flying even higher then him. It dropped down on him, feet first and slammed him back into the pool with a splash.

The frog landed on the ground with a croak and leapt towards the pool edge. A fin broke the surface of the water and headed towards the frog. Tom's form could be seen through the water and though the waves made it difficult to see, it appeared as though the lower of his body had formed into a fish's tail. Tom leapt from the water, revealing that he had indeed taken on a mermaid-like appearance. His fish tail slapped against the frog's head repeatedly, before Tom back flipped into the water with barely a splash.

Froggy stumbled back, releasing a surprised gasp before a blast of lime green flames exploded out of it, leaving a brown frog-shaped husk behind. The husk fell to the ground and crumbled apart.

Tom leapt back out of the water, the lower half of his body returning to normal in a flash of white light. He pushed a button on the buckle of his belt and the panel popped out. He removed the blue pendant from it and a line of light moved down his form, the suit vanishing as it did. The belt straps disappeared as well and the buckle clattered to the ground.

"Hold it right there," he looked up and saw the guy was now pointing his futuristic pistol at him. He noticed the massive scar covering the man's face. "You're coming with us."

"There's no need for force, Chang," the guy in the suit said calmly. "I'm sure the young man would gladly come with us. He probably would like some answers."

Tom shrugged. "Whatever."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider.

Chapter 2

Origin of the Rider

A cleanup team arrived a short time later to pick up the remains of the frog monster. Tom watched from afar as they worked.

The guy in the suit stood in front of him, watching the whole thing as well. The two who had fought the frog earlier were each standing behind and to the side of him; clearly they were there to make sure Tom didn't try to sneak away. He didn't plan on leaving just yet though. He felt curious about what had just happened.

Tom clutched the pendent in his hand. The device he had used to transform currently resided in the suit's jacket pocket.

The fragile brown husk-like remains were carefully scraped up and placed in the back of a white unmarked van, Tom briefly wondered why they hadn't picked the more traditional and mysterious black.

"Shall we?" the suit gestured towards another van. Tom felt relieved that he wouldn't be traveling in the van that held Froggy's remains.

Scarface slide the door on the van's side open and Tom stepped in, flanked closely by the other two. Scarface walked around and climbed into the driver's seat.

Tom examined the wall of screens and various other surveillance devices on the van's wall. The suit gestured to one of the chairs sitting in front of the wall of screens. Tom sat down. The man rotated the chair next to it around, so he could sit down and face Tom. The woman climbed into the passenger seat.

"So you obviously have some questions…" the suit said.

"You think so?" Tom asked, leaning back in his chair. He was turning over the pendent in his hand. "First off, who are you people?"

"I am Mark Phillips," the suit said. "Director of the Secret Prevent of Offbeat Killings."

"SPOOK?" Tom frowned.

"Yep, that's us," the woman said, twisting around in her seat to look at them. "I'm Mary Faust."

"And him?" Tom asked glancing at their driver.

"His name is Dennis Chang," Mary said when Chang rudely neglected to answer.

"And would you happen to already know my name?" Tom asked, eyeing Phillips suspiciously.

Phillips smiled. It seemed to be a warm, friendly smile, the kind that might soften up most people. Unfortunately it had no such affect on Tom. "You're a smart kid, aren't you?"

"I'm hardly a kid," Tom said, before holding up the blue pendent in his hand. "Why is my necklace the activation component for your little secret weapon?"

Phillips inhaled, preparing to start his explanation. Tom leaned against the surveillance equipment, preparing to distrust every other word the man said.

"The fact is we've known of the monsters like the one you fought for a long time," Phillips said. "As such we began taking precautions. One of those precautions was genetic experimentation. Several of my soldiers and scientists volunteered to have their children undergo a process which altered and fused the still developing embryos' DNA with that of an animal's. Your parents were some of my best researchers."

"So how come I don't have any memories of being stuck in some lab test tube?" Tom asked, crossing his arms.

"Since the children were to be an important part of our resistance against the creatures, we hid them naturally…" Phillips sighed. "But somehow the creatures found out about the project and did everything they could to destroy it. We thought that most of them had been wiped out and it was a surprise to find you."

Tom frowned. "So you're saying that somehow I ended up in an orphanage after the monsters attacked?"

Phillips shrugged. "I have no more idea of how it happened then you do."

"And you hope that I'll help you with your giant animal problem?" Tom asked. "Sorry, you might be able to control my genes, but you can't control me."

"You're a lifeguard; doesn't that mean you have some obligation to preserve human lives?" Mary asked.

"Only if it involves water," Tom replied. "It says nothing about monsters and shady government agencies. So if you don't mind, stop the car and let me off."

Chang glanced back at Phillips who nodded slowly. Chang scowled, making his scarred face look truly fierce and then he turned and pulled over.

"If you reconsider-."

"I won't," Tom interrupted, pushing the van door open. He glanced around at the deserted highway. The hairs on the back of his neck started to stand up and he glanced around. He almost wanted to step back into the van and ask them to take him back to someplace more populated.

"Is something wrong?" Phillips asked, leaning out of the van door.

Tom glanced up at the sky then shoved Phillips back into van, before leaping forward. Sparkling yellow powder hit the ground, exploding on contact. It also crackled against the side of the van.

Mary and Chang flung the front doors of the van open and jumped out, each drawing one of the fancy pistols and aiming skyward. The giant white moth monster swooped towards them. They both opened fire and the moth stopped its dive, quickly fluttering its green wings to regain altitude. The two kept firing, but the moth was far enough away to weave around their shots. It thrust its arms forward, sparkling powder floating from its wings at the two humans below. The distance worked in their favor this time as they both rolled out of the way.

Tom leapt to his feet and saw Phillips climbing out of the van, withdrawing the belt buckle from his jacket pocket.

"I told you I'm not working for you," Tom snapped, glaring at the buckle.

"The moth might know about you already, it may have witnessed your fight with the frog and if it did, it will inform the other members of its kind about you," Phillips said, holding out the buckle.

"What if it already has?" Tom asked.

"In that case, then I would suggest you keep the Biobuckle, since more of the creatures will come after you," Phillips replied.

Tom scowled and snatched the buckle out of Phillips' grasp.

Chang and Mary rolled to the side as another barrage of powder hit the ground. The moth dived towards them and wrapped one hand around each of their necks, before flying forwards, carrying the two humans with it. Tom growled and charged after it.

The moth flew through the trees and slammed both of the humans into the trunk of a particularly large one. He released their necks as the two battered fighters fell to the ground.

"How on earth did you guys manage to stay alive this long?" Tom asked as he leapt over a log and faced off against the moth monster. Tom raised the buckle and then dropped it, vines reached out of his waist and snatched the buckle out of midair, pulling it against his waist and forming into belt straps.

"Henshin!" Tom placed his pendent into the belt's panel and then pushed the panel in. The belt's eye opened and flashed with blue light.

"Transform," the belt announced, a white mist settling over Tom's form before a line of blue light moved down it, replacing his clothes with the blue, black, and white suit. The light reached his feet and pulsed through the ground, the moth hovered into the air to avoid the shockwave.

Tom stared at the moth and stretched out his fingers, before clenching them into fists. He shouted a karate yell before leaping into the air; swing his foot up towards the moth. The creature grabbed his foot as it slammed into its side and then flapped its wings, flying higher.

"Hey! Where are we going?!" Tom shouted as the trees flew past him and occasionally one of their branches slammed into his face. The suit did a wonderful job protecting him, but by the time they had left the forest, he was severely bruised.

He felt the presence of water before he heard the waves and he looked up to see the beach come into view. The moth hovered out over the water and then dropped him. He fell headfirst towards the water below. He straightened his limbs, the impact would be worse if he hit the water with his limbs spread.

Taking a deep breath, he slammed through the wall of water below. He paddled his arms, his legs morphing into the fishtail just like they had when he hit the water of the pool. He swam towards the surface. He could make out the moth floating down to the water to see if it had really killed him. Tom briefly questioned the intelligence of the creature.

He kicked his tail and shot out of the water. The moth only had enough time to screech in surprise before Tom grabbed it and pulled it into the water. He wrapped one arm around the moth's arms and used the other to repeatedly punch it in the head, while his tail drove them farther down. The moth failed and broke his hold, quickly trying to paddle back towards the surface. Apparently it didn't like the water.

Tom swam after it, but it kicked him in the head when he got too close, though it might have been an accident, since the moth's full attention was focused on reaching the surface. When it reached the surface it took flight again, the dip into the water hadn't affected its powers of levitation at all.

The moth turned and flew back towards land. Tom kicked his tail and swam after it, leaping out of the waves for a breath of fresh air, though the suit somehow allowed him to hold his breath a lot longer than natural. The moth shot a cloud of powder back at him as he made his next leap out of the water, Tom managed to twist around in the air and avoid the thicker part of the cloud, but he still felt the powder explode against his skin-like suit. He ungracefully fell back into the water, but immediately continued after the moth. He dived a little deeper as the moth launched a spray of the powder against the water, causing a pillar of water to shoot into the air. He headed back towards the surface and leapt out, crossing his arms into front of his head before he slammed into the moth. The force of the impact sent the moth flying the rest of the way onto the beach.

Tom's tail morphed back into his feet as he reached the shallows and he walked unto the beach. The moth picked itself out of the sand and screeched in rage. It whirled around and charged at him. Tom batted its punch to the side and delivered a crushing blow to its gut. The moth keeled over, clutching its stomach in pain and Tom slammed his elbow down on its back, knocking it the rest of the way to the ground.

It rolled back to its feet and leapt into the air, fluttering its wings.

"No, you don't," Tom leapt after the creature and slammed his foot into its back, knocking it out of the sky and into the shallow water. "Say 'good-bye', Mothra."

Tom jumped, flipping towards the moth with both of his feet together. His legs morphed into a fishtail with a flash of light and he slapped the tail against the moth's head repeatedly, before he back flipped away, landing on his reappearing feet.

Mothra screeched, raising a hand into the air, before green flames exploded out of it and its husk collapsed into the water.

Tom raised his head and turned around as he heard the sound of grass rustling. Mary appeared on the hill in front of him. She glanced at him and then the husk of the moth, which was being washed away by the waves. Tom turned and walked away, deciding that for the moment he would keep the Biobuckle.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider. It belongs to Toei. Orcinus and other assorted characters of this fanfic belong to me.

Author's Note: So I decided to come back to the Kamen Rider section for a little bit. I'm hopefully going to get a bit of work down on this fic, but I don't plan to continue with my other Kamen Rider fic, just so everyone knows.

Chapter 3

Words and Actions

The hulking gray monster grunted as it stepped through the forest. Its weak eyesight could make out the glow of a campfire a short distance away, but the humans' senses were so dull they would not notice him.

"Darn beer goes right through me," a human voice muttered from nearby.

The rhino monster halted as the small human forced his way out of the bushes in front of it. He seemed to be somewhat disoriented, but still noticed the large shadowed figure.

"Blimey! What a strange looking rock!"

The creature had no idea what the human had said, but he had seen him and that was enough to seal his fate. It bellowed as it charged forward, head down and horn pointing right at the drunken hiker. His eyes widened in surprise, just before the rhino barreled into him and knocked his body through the air. A sinking snap sounded as the man crashed into a tree. The monster turned away from its victim and started toward the campsite, intent on making sure none of the other humans got in its way.

-------------------------------------------

"Go away!" Tom snapped as a fist rapped against the door to his apartment. He tossed a fistful of paper into the plastic trash bag in his hand. The floor was covered with more garbage, all of it left there by the room's untidy occupant. It was sparsely furnished with only a couch, desk, chair, and lamp brightening up the room. Dark curtains hung closed over every window.

The knocking continued until Tom had had enough. He tossed the bag down, kicked a pile of paper out of his way and headed for the kitchen.

The kitchen was cleaner, but only because Tom didn't use it as much as the living room. There was no table, only a fridge. Tom approached the counter and threw open the window over the sink. He pulled himself onto the counter and lowered himself out of the window, grabbing hold of the nearby tree branch and climbing down it. He reached the tree trunk and shimmied down it.

"Ahem," Tom turned around to find Mary standing behind him. "Can we talk?"

The youth sighed loudly and glanced around the small garden. Deciding that attempting to run away would be undignified, Tom shrugged. "Fine, there's a diner near here."

Tom set a fast pace as he led the way to the shop. Mary easily kept pace with him, her gaze stayed fixed on him as though she feared he would disappear just like after he had killed the moth creature.

The diner was a small building in amongst the larger housing brick structures. It was a little crowded at this hour for Tom's taste, but he wasn't about to invite the SPOOK agent into his home.

He sat down at his favorite table and Mary slid into the seat across from him. A smiling waitress appeared almost at once to take their order.

"Cheeseburger and a side of fires with a Sprite," Tom quoted his favorite order from memory.

"Just a coffee, black," Mary said.

The waitress jotted the order down, gave one last smile and turned for the kitchen. They sat in silence for a few minutes, before Tom broke it.

"If you want the 'Biobuckle' back, you're wasting your time," Tom leaned against his seat, crossing his arms and doing his best to look intimidating. "As long as those creatures could be looking to take me out, I'm keeping it to protect myself."

"Director Phillips has no problem with that," Mary nodded. "We actually want to make you an offer… We wouldn't expect you to fight the monsters for free after all."

"I'm not working for SPOOK," Tom said instantly. "I can get by with my lifeguard job."

"Why are you so content to just ignore those things?" Mary's expression darkened. "They've already killed so many people and they'll kill more so long as they're still around."

"I'm a lifeguard, not a cop," Tom replied coolly. "Fighting monsters is not what I wanted to do with my life."

Mary scowled, but didn't say anything more as the waitress had just returned with Tom's cheeseburger and her coffee. She took the steaming cup and sipped the bitter liquid. "If I can't say anything more to convince you-."

"You can't," Tom interrupted.

"Then I'll be going," Mary said, standing to take her leave.

"Go ahead and hate me if you want," Tom said. "I just want to take care of myself. Where is the harm in that?"

Mary glanced back at him, prepared to make some kind of angry retort, but Tom's expression had become uncertain, instead of his previous cold mask. Mary wondered if he could fake his emotions as well as he masked them, but she thought there was a sense of desperation in his eyes as though he wanted her approval of his actions.

"Director Phillips assigned me and Chang to guard you for the next couple of days," she informed him in an emotionless tone. "In case, the creatures come after you."

Tom nodded and turned his attention to devouring his burger. Mary continued the rest of the way out of the diner. She stood on the street for a few moments, replaying the conversation in her head.

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"We won't be able to count on his help," Mary said as soon as she strode through the door to Phillips' office.

Phillips nodded. "Disappointing, but unsurprising."

"Do you still want us to guard him?" Chang asked his usual steel expression in place. "If he won't help, then-."

"Then it's his choice," Phillips interrupted. "He's now an innocent bystander, one that we need to protect just like any other."

"Protection is waste of time!" Chang snapped. "All we do is wait for the monsters to move and then try to contain the damage. We need to take the fight to them."

"Too dangerous," Mary said. "You know the creatures' pools are too well guarded. Attacks against them might as well be suicide missions."

Chang sighed. He knew all of this of course, but that didn't stop his insisting that they should take a bolder approach in fighting off the monsters.

"R&D is making progress with their weapons research," Phillips said. "Soon we might be armed well enough to attempt an attack against a pool."

"If that Rider wasn't so cowardly, we would already be much better armed," Chang scowled.

"Not everyone is suited for the battlefield, Chang," Phillips said gently, but focused a hard stare on his subordinate.

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Tom felt annoyed. Knowing that SPOOK was keeping an eye on him hadn't been as assuring to the youth as Mary thought it would be. He felt like they were invading his privacy.

"Nosey buggers," Tom muttered as he neared his apartment building.

The hairs on the back of his neck began to bristle and he felt the same sense of impending danger he had just before the moth had attacked him. He spun around and spotted a large gray humanoid shape lumber out of an alleyway. The rhino lowered its head and charged forward, its horn aimed straight for Tom's head.

"Move, kid!" Chang exclaimed, emerging from the shadows into the bright circle created by a streetlight. He pulled his futuristic sidearm from his jacket and fired at the advancing juggernaut. Mary appeared from another alley and opened fire on the creature's back.

The shots bounced off the creature's thick hide and it just kept coming at Tom. He braced himself and leapt to the side at the last second, the rhino rushed past and crashed into a brick wall. It snorted and pulled its horn free of the hole it had punched in the stone, spinning around to face Tom.

"Get out of here!" Mary called as she ran forward. "We'll take care of this."

Tom glanced between Mary and the rhino, then turned and ran for his apartment. The rhino started after him, but Chang leapt onto its back and pulled out his knife. He drove the blade down, but it bounced off the thick hide. Chang gasped and the rhino reached around and grabbed Chang's arm. It yanked him off and tossed him away. He crashed down on the hood of a car and fell unconscious.

Mary screamed an enraged battle cry and unloaded the contents of her weapon at the rhino's head, but that was no more effective than any of the previous shots had been. The monster jumped forward and reached out with a massive hand to shove her. The force knocked her down and she dropped her pistol.

A massive foot raised above Mary's head. Her eyes widened. An engine revved and the rhino looked up just in time for a motorcycle to ram into it. The blow sent the beast stumbling back. The vehicle's rider pushed the kickstand down and climbed off the bike. He removed his helmet to reveal Tom's smirking face.

"Guess I can't just stand on the sidelines after all," he said as he pulled the Biobuckle out of his jacket pocket. The blue pendant was pulled from his jeans pocket. He placed the buckle against his waist and the blue and gold vines reached out to hold it in place.

"Henshin!"

He pushed the pendant into place and the buckle's eye opened with a flash of blue light. "Transform," the belt droned as mist formed around Tom's body, before a line of blue light moved from his head to his toes, forming the skin-like suit. A shockwave of blue energy rippled across the ground as his transformation finished, Mary threw up an arm to shield her face from the wave, while Tom's motorcycle was knocked onto its side. The rhino however took no notice of the blast as it struck its feet.

"All right, tough guy. Let's do this," Tom raised his green eyepieces to glare at the monster. He charged forward and slammed a fist into the rhino's gut. The behemoth barely flinched from the blow. Tom threw a flurry of punches all with the same result as the first. The rhino slammed its fist down, but Tom rolled to the side. He stepped back in and caught the rhino's chin with an uppercut. It staggered back this time.

Tom leapt skyward. His feet morphed into the fishtail as he flipped towards the rhino, he slapped the tail against its head several times, before back flipping away. He landed on his reformed human legs and stared at the rhino.

The creature didn't move for several seconds and then it lowered its head to glare at Tom. His eyes widened behind his mask as the rhino charged at him, its horn slammed into his chest and sent him flying back. He landed beyond his motorcycle on the ground, clutching at his battered chest. A hole had been torn in his suit from the horn impact.

The rhino advanced on him, stepping on his motorcycle as it did. The metal frame bent under the beast's weight. Tom staggered to his feet and raised his fists though he couldn't imagine how we would beat the rhino when even his tail kick attack had failed to slow it down.

He felt a strange tickling sensation on his arms and glanced down to find the fins there growing larger and longer. He now had a pair of blade-like fins extending out just a little bit beneath his wrists.

The rhino threw a punch and Tom snapped back to reality just in time to duck under it. As the rhino stepped past, Tom struck out with one of the fin blades and it scored a long green cut in the monster's side.

A surprised gasp escaped the creature's throat. It probably wasn't used to being hurt. Tom spun around and slashed another wound into the rhino's back. It spun, swinging a fist as it did, but Tom ducked around the blow and slashed another mark into its chest. He quickly followed it up with a vertical slash across its stomach. This time lime green flame poured out of the wound. Tom back flipped away as the beast slammed both of its fists down on the spot he had just been standing in. He jumped forward and raised both arms above his head. He swung his fin blades down as he hit the ground; two more slash marks appearing on the rhino's hide. It bellowed in pain, stepping back from the small creature that had hurt it so much, but it was too late. Green fire poured from its wounds, until a giant cloud of flame exploded out of it, leaving behind a fragile brown husk.

Tom lowered his arms, the fin blades shrinking back to their more harmless size. He exhaled sharply and then gasped in pain, placing a hand against the wound in his stomach.

"You should come with us and get that looked at," he turned around to find Mary standing behind him. He felt too weak from the fight and blood loss to talk so he just nodded his head.

"Let's go…."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, except for Orcinus and his supporting characters and villains.

Chapter 4

Road of Danger

"That should do," Mary said, leaning back and surveying the bandages wrapped around Tom's midsection. "At least until we get you back to HQ and have our medic examine the wound."

Tom frowned. All his instinctual distrust of faceless government organizations urged him to turn around and jump out of the van.

"What about him?" he nodded at the floor where Chang lay unconscious after his brief tussle with the rhino.

"He'll be fine," Mary replied as she climbed into the driver's seat. "Just a couple of bruises."

"How did you guys manage to stay alive this long?" Tom asked, shaking his head.

Mary ignored him and started the van. The vehicle pulled out of the vacant lot and unto the road out of the city. As they turned onto a winding forest road, Tom began imagining what the SPOOK HQ might look like. It would no doubt be located high on the mountain, away from prying eyes. The complex itself was probably some sort of underground bunker.

Tom frowned and finally fell into a light doze. His fight with the rhino creature had exhausted him.

The sound of the van's backdoors banging open awakened him with a start. He glared at Mary, hoping she hadn't noticed him jump. She stared back with an unreadable expression.

"So this is the young Rider?" a man wearing a white lab coat stepped into view behind Mary. His brown hair was fading to gray; unlike most lab coat-wearing types he didn't wear a pair of glasses.

Tom turned his glare on the newcomer. "Who are you?"

The man retained his cheerful air despite the youth's coldness. "I'm Doctor Stephen Ambrose, please call me Stephen."

"Doctor of what?" Tom asked as he hopped out of the van.

"You name it, I've probably got a degree in it," Stephen replied with a good-natured smirk. "I'm head of the medical staff here and also in charge of studying the remains of the creatures."

"Sounds like fun," Tom said.

"Oh, it's quite fascinating."

"Stephen, could you please take a look at Tom's wound?" Mary asked a twinge of impatience audible in her voice.

"Yes, of course," Stephen nodded. He gestured with one hand. "Right this way."

"I'll wake Chang and we'll be right in," Mary said.

Tom rounded the side of the van and got his first look at SPOOK central. Rather than an underground bunker, a large mansion was built into the mountainside, partially supported by long stilts.

"Not exactly inconspicuous, is it?" Tom asked as he and Stephen strolled towards the large building.

"This is Phillips' house and also home to a few of the agents," Stephen stated.

"What? Did they run out of underground bunkers?" Tom asked.

Stephen took the lead once they entered the mansion, guiding Tom into an examining room. Tom pulled off his shirt, exposing the bandages under it. He sat down on the examination table and Stephen pulled the bandages away to look at the wound.

"Ah, it's coming along nicely."

"I'm a fast healer," Tom said.

"No doubt because of your Rider powers," Stephen said as he replaced the bandages. "Your altered physiology regenerates slightly faster than ordinary humans even without the biobuckle."

"Is that all it does?" Tom asked as he pulled his shirt back on.

"Your other natural abilities are no doubt enhanced by a slight degree," Stephen replied. "You're probably a strong swimmer thanks to your cetacean DNA."

"I'm a strong swimmer because of my lifeguard training," Tom frowned. He didn't like finding out that his natural talents were all thanks to some genetic tampering down by scientists before he was born.

"Of course," Stephen nodded, wisely choosing not to debate the subject.

The door open and Chang leaned his head into the room. "Phillips wants to see the kid when you're done."

"Great," Tom groaned as he stood up. He exited the room and followed Chang down the hall. Stephen's footsteps drummed behind him. Evidently, the scientists didn't want this fresh specimen of science out of his sight just yet. Tom made a note not to let Stephen take any blood samples from him.

They entered the large office of SPOOK Director Mark Phillips. Phillips looked up from his desk and smiled at Tom. "I'm glad you've decided to work with us."

"That's right. I'm working _with_ you, not _for_ you," Tom said as he strode the distance between the door and Phillips' desk. "But the fact is this is work of a sort, so what can you offer me in the way of monetary compensation?"

"Greedy little brat," Chang muttered under his breath, conveniently forgetting that his own paycheck was nothing to scoff at. Mary and Stephen stayed silent.

"Are we talking an hourly wage?" Phillips asked, resting his elbows on the desk and his chin on his knuckles.

"No, that implies you have some kind of pull in what I do," Tom said, laying his hands on Phillips desk and meeting the director's steady gaze. "Why don't we take the mercenary approach to this? I'll get paid for every monster I take down. I'll let you decide the price since you know best what these things can do and this way it won't seem too much like extortion."

"You wouldn't rather name your price?" Phillips raised an eyebrow, but otherwise didn't react. "I assure you we could-"

"Just so long as it pays for my trashed motorcycle," Tom interrupted.

Phillips smiled even wider. "I think we can work something out."

Tom blinked in confusion. Phillips stood and walked around his desk, heading for the exit. Tom stared after him blankly for a moment, before following. The group that had remained behind at the door spread apart to let Phillips through and then fell in behind him.

The director led them towards the far side of the mansion and threw a door into what unmistakably was a garage. A black limo and several of the unmarked white vans were parked in the spacious room, but Tom failed to notice any of the vehicles save the blue motorcycle leaning on its kickstand in the center of the room. The bright color stood out against the drab gray backdrop of the garage. It resembled a Honda VFR800. There was a small collection of white patches towards the tail of the bike and one towards the bottom front of it. Tom thanked heaven for a complete lack of orca-like designs on the bike that would have likened it to something out of a comic book.

"Hold on, you can't turn the Aquaracer over to this kid," Chang said, stepping forward to stand in front of Phillips.

"Why not? We can't very well call him a Kamen Rider unless he has a motorcycle to ride," the director replied.

A dumbstruck expression appeared on Chang's face, while Tom shrugged. "Makes sense to me."

Tom pushed the stunned Chang to one side and started towards the machine. He felt giddy as a five-year old at Christmas as he slid unto the bike's seat. He examined the controls for several seconds.

"You can take it for a test ride tomorrow," Phillips offered. "You can spend the night here in one of the guest rooms."

Normally, Tom would have refused such an offer, but not even his dislike for SPOOK could keep him away from this bike. He nodded, barely able to hide his excitement. Chang looked crushed.

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The two creatures snuck through the darkened forest. The lead monster was covered in coarse brown fur and two moose-like horns grew from the sides of his head. He wore shoulders that resembled his antlers.

His companion didn't look as threatening. Its fur was black and covered it completely except for its thin snout. It had no visible eyes. The beast's hands were shovel-like claws.

They halted at the tree line as their quarry came into view. A crumbling and deserted human structure stood before them. Keen senses told there were no humans to see them so they crept out towards the condemned building.

Once inside, the mole would go to work on a new well.

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Tom set the alarm clock in his room to 6:45 am. When it rang the next morning, he rolled over in bed, grumbling angrily at the interruption of his sleep. He reached for the alarm, but came up short. His mind registered this as odd since he usually kept his alarm clock within reach. Then he remembered it wasn't his alarm clock and he wasn't in his room. He bolted up right in bed as he remembered the motorcycle waiting for him in the garage. He threw off the covers and quickly slipped and tied his shoes.

No one else seemed to be awake as Tom trekked through the mansion's halls. Loud snoring emanated from one of the rooms. Phillips had shown him the kitchen the night before and thankfully Tom remembered the way. He helped himself to some breakfast, which he quickly devoured.

He wasted no time in heading for the garage. He opened the door and headed straight for the Aquaracer, but stopped as he spotted someone kneeling next to it. The person had heard him enter and he turned his head to look at him.

"Hi there," he said as he pushed himself up right, tossing a wrench into the toolbox next to him. "Phillips told me he was turning over ownership of the Aquaracer to you. I was just double checking everything."

He wore greasy overalls and a white t-shirt. His face was unshaven; the baseball cap on his head was the part of him not covered in grease.

"Well, I appreciate that," Tom said.

"Patrick Gold," the man said. He extended a greasy palm towards Tom, but then quickly retracted it when he noticed the black residue. "So you're going to be hunting down all of those monsters for us?"

"I guess," Tom replied. "Assuming I happen to come across any of them."

"Well, good luck," Patrick leaned down and picked up a rag wiping off his hands on it. He turned and plucked something else off the floor. He turned to Tom and extended the object, a motorcycle helmet. "Take good care of her, okay?"

"I certainly will," Tom promised taking the helmet from the mechanic. Patrick stepped aside and Tom approached the motorcycle, swinging his leg over it and sitting down. The key was already in the ignition. Tom turned it and the bike roared to life. He pulled the helmet on as Patrick hit a button against the wall and the garage door began opening.

Tom zoomed out into the early morning light and down the road towards the city. He was just reaching the outskirts when the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He slowed the Aquaracer to a stop and pushed up his helmet visor, glancing around.

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The mole had already dug a hole, several feet deep into the floor of the abandoned building. Its antlered guard joined it as the finishing touches on the well began. Both creatures raised their arms to the ceiling and the hole began to glow a sickly green color. A rock smashed into the mole's nose, knocking it on its tail. The moose grunted and glanced in the direction of the attack's origin.

Tom strode toward the two monsters, biobuckle in one hand. He placed the device against his waist and a tangle of vines immediately reached out to hold it in place. He pulled his blue pendent out of his jacket pocket. "Let me send you two back to hell. Henshin."

"Transform," the belt announced as Tom pushed the pendant into it. The belts eyes opened, blazing with a blue light. White translucent mist formed around Tom's body, a line of blue light moved from his head to his feet, forming his suit as it went. It hit the ground and sent a shockwave rippling through it. The monsters braced themselves and managed to keep from being knocked over.

The moose bellowed and lowered its head, charging at Tom.

"Not happening a second time," Tom said as he raised his arms and caught the moose by the antlers. He slammed a kick into its chest and pushed against it antlers, sending it stumbling back. Tom charged after it and leapt into the air, hitting it in the shoulder with a flying kick. The blow sent the moose flying into a pillar.

Shovel-like claws slammed into Tom's chest. He spun back and raised an arm to block the mole's next slash. He jabbed it in the side with a fist and jumped back as it slashed again. Tom backpedaled as the mole advanced, recklessly swinging its claws.

The fins on his arms extended and Tom caught the next slash with a fin blade. He sliced the other blade across the mammal's chest, leaving a glowing green cut. The mole raised its arm and swung its claws down towards Tom's head, but he swung his arm up and sliced his blade through the soft flesh of the mole's hand. The sharp digits went flying off the creature's hand, exploding in miniature green fireballs and leaving behind a fragile brown husk.

The mole shrieked as it stared at its missing hand. Tom took the opportunity to slash it across the chest, sending it stumbling back. Without warning, the moose charged into fray, ramming Tom and sending him crashing through the building's fragile wall.

The moose snorted in satisfaction, but Tom leapt back through the hole he had just made in the wall. The moose ran at him, fist drawn back. Tom ducked around its punch and kicked it in the back, sending it flying out of the hole. The mole charged in and slashed with its one remaining claw, but Tom caught the appendage. He pulled the mole to the side as the moose leapt back through the hole. The antlers slammed into the mole and knocked it and Tom over. The human pushed the monster off and rolled to the side, avoiding the moose's hoof-like foot. Tom jumped back to his feet.

He stepped back a few feet before leaping into the air. His feet morphed into the dolphin merman tail. The moose dived to the side and out of the way of the attack, but he wasn't the target. The mole stumbled back to its feet; just as Tom's tail reach it. The fins slammed against its naked nose several, before Tom back flipped away. His human legs reformed as he hit the ground. The mole screeched, spreading its arms wide and tilting its head back before a green fireball exploded from it and its husk dropped to the floor.

The moose lowed as it saw the remains of its comrade. With his mission now failed, he turned and leapt through the hole in the wall.

"Hey!" Tom called as he dashed after the moose, stepping through the hole. He spotted the moose running towards the forest at a surprisingly fast pace. He ran around to the front of the building and jumped onto his motorcycle. He turned it on, hoped it had off-road capability and turned after the moose.

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Author's Note: That's all for now, but I can promise you lots of action in the next update. So look forward to it.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider in any shape or form with the exception of Kamen Rider Orcinus, this story, and the supporting characters.

Chapter 5

Body of Darkness

A family out for a walk had witnessed Tom being thrown through the wall of the abandoned building. They stopped and stared in amazement. Tom didn't notice them as he leapt back through the hole. A moment later, the family was farther startled as the moose monster stumbled out of the hole. It also turned and vanished back through the hole after a few minutes. As the father ushered the rest of the fearful and excited family to take cover an explosion sounded from inside the building.

He quickly dug his cell phone out and dialed 911. The moose emerged from the hole and Tom quickly followed. He shouted at his fleeing quarry and went to retrieve his motorcycle. The police were thus informed of the bizarre incident and supplied with the direction in which they should look.

Launders wasted no time in fetching a few select fellow officers and heading for the scene. He muttered to his partner. "I'm not letting that sneaky Mary women beat me there. The people have a right to know what is going on. Forewarned is forearmed."

The words were barely out of his mouth before he turned the corner and found a familiar white unmarked van blocking the road leading into the mountains. A small group was already setting up road closed signs.

The brakes screeched as Launders pressed the pedal to the floor. He didn't bother to park his cruiser and stepped out onto the street, slamming the door closed behind him. "What in the name of my Great Aunt Marge is going on here?"

Mary heard his loud complaint and turned away from Chang to confront the irate detective.

"Of course, you're here," Launders sighed, trying to compose himself.

"Road's closed, Detective," Mary informed. "We'll handle things from here."

Launders scowled and opened his mouth, but stopped short of saying anything. He glared at Mary for a moment before turning and marching back to his car.

"Now that he's been dealt with, let's go make sure Tom doesn't get himself killed," Mary said as she turned back to Chang.

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Tom swore under his breath as he swerved around a tree. He would have caught the moose already if not for all of these obstacles! The creature appeared to be following some kind trail, but it followed it loosely and cut through the trees and bushes, which Tom was forced to swerve around.

After cutting around a large clump of bushes which the moose disappeared through, Tom lost sight of his target. He glanced around and saw the bushes weren't rustling as if a creature were moving within them. He circled around the plants, but found nothing.

The moose bellowed as it leapt from a tree branch and landed on the back of the Aquaracer. Tom gasped in surprise as the moose's hands clamped around his neck. He slammed an elbow against his unwanted passenger's stomach, but the monster still held fast.

Giving up on his attempt to dislodge the creature by direct attacks, Tom turned his attention to the path ahead and sped up. He swerved around the trees, nearly throwing his passenger off several times. Finally, he hit the brakes and swung around, the sudden halt in momentum, sent the moose flying off. Tom dismounted his bike and approached the beast.

The creature climbed back to its feet in just a few moments. Bellowing in rage, the beast charged. It threw a punch, but Tom blocked by raising his arm. He threw a right, but the moose caught his fist. Tom lashed out with his foot, knocking the moose to the ground. Tom dropped off his feet, driving his elbow down on the its gut. It recovered from the blow and tried to stand back up, but Tom had pushed himself up first and punched its head, knocking it back to the ground. It landed face first and thus Tom grabbed it by the back of the neck and hauled it back to its feet. He grabbed the end of the moose's left antler with his free hand and swung his elbow down on the antler, snapping it off with a loud crunch. The monster shrieked in pain and darted away. Tom glanced at the severed antler in his hand; the broken end of it was blazing with green flames. He tossed the boney object at its owner, but the moose caught it. Tom raised his fists, but the moose turned and fled.

Scowling beneath his helmet, Tom dashed after it. The moose didn't bother trying to lose him this time. Escaping was its only concern. It reached a rocky drop-off and leapt down it. Tom paused at the drop-off and gazed at the scene before him.

A short drop from the ledge was barren ground, not even covered with dead pine needles or fallen leaves. Small boulders dotted the ground and in the center of the lifeless clearing was a large pool of lime green liquid from which rose a thin layer of mist. The moose halted beside the pool and stretched out an arm towards it, dipping the severed antler it held into the fluid. A green glow flowed from the pool into the antler and to the moose. The shape of the antler twisted, developing a hilt on the broken end and the length thinning into a slightly curved blade. The moose, refreshed from bathing in the green light, raised its new weapon into the sky and grunted loudly.

Tom was so caught up in watching this spectacle; he didn't notice the vines creeping towards him, until they leapt from the ground. The green tendrils wrapped tightly around his wrist and ankles, before a fifth looped around his neck and began squeezing. He tried to struggle, but the plants were too strong for even him to break.

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Chang led the way into the forest. A small handheld GPS rested in his palm, which he glanced at every few seconds to make sure they were heading in the right direction. He still hated that the Aquaracer had been handed over to that brat, but at least the tracking device in it allowed them to keep tabs on him.

"There it is," Mary said as the bike came into view.

Chang slipped the GPS into his pocket. "But where's the darn kid?"

"The pool's in that direction, right?" Mary asked, nodding into the woods.

Chang nodded. They both drew their side arms and slowly advanced forward. They heard the sounds of Tom's struggle against the vines and sped up. They both drew out their high-tech combat knives as they neared him and immediately fell on the vines. They hacked through the restraints with ease and Tom dropped to the ground once the last one was cut, too out of breath to stand. A line of blue light moved down his body, his suit vanishing as it went.

The duo knelt down and each took one of the youth's arms, hauling him away, Mary grabbed the Biobuckle as well even as more vines slithered forward to entangle them. The moose raised its sword and charged at them. They aimed their pistols and opened fire. The shots exploded against the creature's upper body and it raised an arm to shield its face. When the shots halted and the moose lowered its arm, the humans had vanished.

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Tom groaned as he regained conscious. He sat up and pressed a hand against his aching neck. His wrists and ankles also ached from the crushing force of the vines.

"Looks like he's still alive," Chang muttered.

The youth glanced up to find Mary and Chang standing over him. Chang was scowling, while Mary wore an expression of concern. Tom frowned and pushed himself onto his feet. "What happened?"

"You followed that thing back to the pool, that's what happened," Chang snapped.

"And that means what to me?" Tom glared at him.

"The vines they use to protect their pools got you," Mary said, quickly stepping in between the two hot-headed males.

"How'd you find me?" Tom asked, rubbing at his raw wrist.

"Someone reported your fight with the moose monster to the police, we closed off the road to the cops and followed you here from there," Chang said. "We figured the moose would head back to the pool."

Mentioning the tracking device in the bike would be a bad idea Mary had decided. If Tom knew about it, his paranoia would no doubt make him demand they remove it or take it back. Chang had considered telling him about in the hopes that Tom would give up the bike, but was sensible enough to follow Mary's decision.

"What is the pool?" Tom asked.

"The creatures' source of life," Mary replied. "Near as we can figure out, they draw sustenance and strength from the pools. We even think new creatures might be spawned from them. Certain creatures, we call them well diggers, can create smaller pools in a manner of ways."

"So taking out the pool will eliminate a lot of them?" Tom asked. "Why haven't you done that then?"

"It's too dangerous," Mary replied. "The creatures guard the large pools with more than just those vines. Attacking one of them is suicide."

"I didn't see a whole lot of creatures at that pool," Tom noted. "Just the moose."

"Just because you didn't see them, doesn't mean they aren't there," Chang countered.

"Could they have left the pool unguarded though?" Tom asked. "I have a sort of sixth sense for these things and I didn't feel anything except the moose there."

"I doubt it," Mary huffed. "It's best to just leave the pool alone."

"I could check it out," Tom said, seeming not to have heard her.

"It is worth looking into," Chang agreed.

"Dennis!" Mary exclaimed, shooting her companion an icy look. "Do you want to get him killed?"

"I'm merely suggesting he takes a look," Chang said. "The vines are only at the edge of the pool and he knows about them. If he shoots past with the Aquaracer, they won't be fast enough to grab him."

"And if things start looking bad, I'll get out of there right away," Tom added.

Mary sighed in exasperation and glanced down at the buckle in her hands. She extended her arm, offering the device back to Tom. "I still think it's a horrible idea."

Tom didn't reply. He took the buckle and placed it against his waist, vines shooting out and forming the belt straps.

"Henshin!" he pushed the blue pendant into the belt as Mary and Chang quickly stepped back.

"Transform!" the belt's eye snapped open, glowing blue as the transparent mist began collecting around Tom's body. The blue halo of light traveled down his body, forming the skin-like suit. When it hit the ground and shot across it, Mary and Chang were still nearly knocked off their feet.

He turned around to find the Aquaracer resting on its kickstand. He quickly mounted the vehicle.

"We'll be watching in case you need help," Mary said.

"Thanks, but I think I can handle it," Tom said and raced off in the direction of the pool. He shot out of the trees and past the vines before they could react. He raced over the barren ground towards the pool. The moose bellowed as it appeared atop a rock. It leapt down and stood in the way of the approaching Kamen Rider. "Want to play chicken?"

Tom sped up, but the moose stood firm and raised its sword. When Tom was a few feet away, it acted, dashing forward and swinging its sword. The blade caught Tom in the chest and knocked him off his bike, which went crashing into the pool with a splash.

The moose swung its sword down, but Tom rolled out of the way and back unto his feet. The moose swung again and managed to slash Tom across the chest, leaving a shallow cut in his suit. Extending his fin blades, Tom started forward. The moose swung again, but Tom blocked the slash. He batted the sword to the side and tried to strike the moose, but it stepped back. It swung again and knocked Tom back.

"Agh!" A sharp pain lanced through Tom's shoulder. He turned his head to see a compound eye starting at him. Sharp mandibles were sunk into his armored shoulder. Tom slammed his fist into the creature's face and it released its grip, retreating several steps, but Tom's shoulder was already bloody and going numb. The moose stepped forward and slashed him across the chest. The other creature, a spider monster with only four limbs and no abdomen advanced on Tom from behind, brandishing its segmented arms.

"I knew this was a bad idea!" Mary exclaimed as she started forward, but something knocked her to the side. She glanced up to find a black-furred humanoid shape clinging to a tree trunk, staring down at her. The monkey creature chattered and dropped to the ground. A barrage of gunfire exploded against its fur.

"Go help the kid," Chang instructed, darting forward to stand in front of the new threat, his pistol raised.

Mary grunted and pushed herself back up, dashing out into the barren poolside. Several vines tried to ensnare her, but she dropped into a roll and avoided them. The monkey leapt after her, but Chang fired several shots into its back, turning the leap into a fall. It still crashed into Mary and knocked her to the ground.

Tom ducked under a swipe from the spider's arm and sidestepped a slash from the moose. A second slash struck him across the back and the spider kicked him. The moose caught him and held him in place as the spider quickly landed several blows.

Mary aimed her pistol and fired several pointblank shots into the monkey, before managing to separate herself from the struggling primate. Chang leapt down and slammed his foot into the creature. Mary raised her pistol and fired at the moose monster's back. It lowed in pain and Tom managed to grab hold of its wrist, he spun the creature around and sent it crashing into the arachnid.

Chang drew his combat knife and swung at the monkey, but it back flipped out of the way and somersaulted away from another slash. It hooted loudly and clapped its hands over its head. Chang raised his pistol and just blasted it.

The moose and spider untangled themselves and stood to face Tom again. Mary fired a barrage of shots at them and the spider turned to charge at her. Tom made to intercept it but was blindsided by a slash from the moose, several small flecks of his suit was sent flying through the air by the attack to land in the pool. Tom dodged and parried the moose's slashes, while Mary fired at the advancing spider, but it just shrugged off the blows. She reached for her knife, but the spider reached her first and grabbed her wrist pulling her hand away from the weapon. She tried to slam the butt of her pistol against its head, but the creature just grabbed her wrist and squeezed, causing her to drop the weapon.

"Mary!" Tom exclaimed, seeing her plight. He tried to dodge around the moose, but it stepped to intercept him, slamming an uppercut into his chin and knocking him to the ground. Tom gasped and raised his head, but he found the moose's sword pressed against his neck. The spider meanwhile stretched its mandibles out and leaned towards Mary's neck.

The moose raised its sword and prepared to strike the final blow, but an eerie call sounded from the pool. The six fighters paused and glanced at the pool, where a bright ball of blue light had formed amongst the sickly green. The call, similar to that of a whale or dolphin, continued. Tom thought he could make out the shape of his motorcycle in the light, but it seemed to have stood itself up and something was growing around. The light pulsed brightly and a torrent of blue liquid exploded into the air as a streamlined object shot from the pool and slammed into the moose knocking it into the air.

Tom climbed to his feet and stared at the Aquaracer. A black and white mass covered the bike's frame. The front came to a round point with a teeth-filled mouth. Two white patches rested behind and above the mouth. A pair of fins jutted out to the sides directly below the handlebars. A dorsal fin extended out just behind the seat and a long finned tail stretched out behind it. The under side of the tail was white as was the lower half of the object.

The spider tossed Mary to the side and charged at the motorcycle, but it sprayed a torrent of water from its mouth that knocked the spider back.

Snapping out of his daze, Tom quickly swung a leg over the bike and sat down. He revved the engine, staring down the spider. The moose pushed itself up from where it had fallen and slowly walked around to stand in front of Tom. The monster charged and the Aquaracer launched forward. Tom pulled the bike back into a wheelie, the tail on the bike bending to help balance it. The front tire slammed into the moose's head, knocking it to the side. The spider moved in, leaping over the rocks. Tom ramped off a rock as the spider leapt into the air. The bike's nose rammed into the spider's chest and knocked it backwards. Tom spun the bike around as it hit the ground and accelerated back at the spider. The bike's mouth opened and bite into the spider as it reached it, carrying the monster along like a bizarre hood ornament. Tom crashed the spider into a boulder and it exploded in a giant green fireball.

The monkey meanwhile managed to slip behind Chang and wrap an arm around his neck. Chang gasped for breath and slammed his foot down on the monster's toes, but it only laughed at the attempt. Chang stabbed his knife back and imbedded it in the monkey's gut. It screeched in pain and released its strangle hold. Chang spun around and sunk his knife into the monster's chest. It stumbled back, an expression of shock and disbelief on its face. Chang launched a barrage of bullets at it, green flames poured from the primate's wounds until it finally exploded.

The moose monster slipped around a rock and slowly approached Tom from behind, raising its sword for a surprise attack. The tail of the Aquaracer shot up and slammed into the monster's face. The monster received several more blows from the failing tail, one knocking its sword away. Another blow to the head knocked it onto its back.

Tom glanced back at the moose and dismounted his bike, taking a few steps forward as his adversary struggled back to its feet. Tom leapt into the air, his legs joining together into his tail. He descended on the moose and struck it several times with his tail, before flipping back and landing on his human legs.

The moose raised an arm, even in its last moments trying to attack Tom as it stumbled forward. Flames exploded out of the monster and its husk fell to the ground.

Sighing, Tom fell back, but instead of landing on the ground as he had expected he found something bracing him up. He twisted his head around to find that the Aquaracer and the creature covering it had moved to catch him. He was now leaning back against the bike's seat. Tom allowed himself a small smile and reached out to pat the creature's head.

Mary and Chang slowly approached Tom and his new companion. The duo paused as a series of heavy footsteps sounded against the rock. A huge figure emerged atop a large boulder behind the pool. The beast's large fan-like ears, long, nimble trunk, and long tusks were unmistakable. More figures appeared next to the large monster, more spider monsters, a bear-like creature. A flock of flying creatures rose up from the forest as creatures also emerged from behind the rocks. A chameleon faded into sight, sticking to a rock next to Tom's head.

The three humans exchanged expressions of hopelessness as the creatures howled, lowed, and screeched circling around them like a swarm of angry bees.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider with the exception of the original content and characters of this fanfic.

Chapter 6

Winged Assassin

"Damn it," Tom muttered under his breath as his gaze swept over the army of monsters around them. He pushed himself away from the Aqua Racer and shakily stood, raising his fist. Mary and Chang stood behind him, each with their gun raised.

The elephant creature cocked its head to the side and then leapt from its rock, over the large pool, and landed in front of Tom, sending a massive shockwave through the earth that knocked Tom to his knees and bowled over Mary, Chang, and most of the ground bound monsters.

Unlike its comrades, the elephant wore clothes. A red jacket with cold trimming covered his chest and red trousers with a golden silk cloth tied around his waist. Multiple golden earrings hung from his large ears and an oval red gem seemed to be imbedded in his forehead. He had seven tusks four on the right side of his mouth and three on the left.

Tom jumped back to his feet and threw a punch. The blow connected with the elephant's ample stomach, but he seemed not to feel it. The Rider grunted in surprise and threw a series of punches, none of which had any more effect than the first.

The elephant thrust an arm forward and shoved Tom back; he stumbled and slumped against the seat of his bike.

"Your spirit is determined, even if your body is weak," the elephant spoke in a deep, rumbling voice. "I shall allow you to walk away, but we will meet again and fight to the death."

"Fine with me," Tom hissed.

The elephant waved an arm and after a moment of hesitation, the crowd of monsters stepped to the side, forming a path of escape for the humans. Tom took hold of his bike's handlebars and backed it away, while Mary and Chang stepped back, weapons still raised and eyes darting around. The creatures made no move to stop them and soon vanished behind the trees.

All three wanted to break into a run, but Tom was too exhausted, so they continued at a leisurely pace with the two normal humans guarding the rear. After a few minutes, Tom removed the pendant from his belt and canceled his transformation.

Mary spoke first. "I knew that was a terrible idea."

Neither Chang nor Tom offered a reply.

* * *

Mantidae roused Loxodonta from meditation. The elephant sighed and pushed himself up, towering over the smaller Phylum.

"Lord Vultur requests an audience with you," the insect clicked in his native dialect, rubbing the two long bladed fingers of his hands together.

"What does he want?" the elephant asked.

"He wishes to know why you let an abomination escape from you," Mantidae replied.

In an instant, Loxodonta's hand was wrapped around the insect's throat. The smaller Phylum gagged as he was hoisted into the air. "I wonder who told him about that…"

"It was not I!" he screeched as he tried to pry the hands from his throat.

Loxodonta released his grip and the insect dropped to the floor. He turned and lumbered over to the Istrium, the pool. The gem on his head flashed and an image formed in the liquid before him.

Vultur's head and shoulders were the only thing visible in the pool. Green pads covered his shoulders, but black feathers stuck through the armor here and there. His head was featherless and the shin there pink and wrinkled. His beak parted, forming a sort of frozen smile.

"So you allowed an abomination to escape?" Vultur asked.

"I fully intend to hunt him down later and defeat him in honorable combat," Loxodonta rumbled back.

"Your honor will be the death of you," Vultur hissed, closing his beak.

"We shall see," Loxodonta replied. "You have yet to eliminate the other whelp and his babysitters."

"Might I remind you that my goal is far grander than crushing a few bugs," Vultur said.

"Then you have found her?"

"I am very close," he replied with confidence.

"You should hope your search is not wasted," Loxodonta chuckled.

The tension between the two Lords vanished for a moment and they shared a grin of satisfaction.

"I wish to send Mantidae to test the abilities of this new problem," Vultur said. "I trust you will not be too disappointed if he succeeds in destroying your chosen prey."

"Either outcome will give me great satisfaction."

* * *

Tom slept fitfully that night. His body tossed and turned as his subconscious conjured up dreams of being back at the pool surrounded by the monsters. He awoke covered in sweat and with several bruises from the fight.

He groaned and forced his way out of bed, wishing he didn't have to go into work. He stumbled into his cluttered kitchen and began making eggs and toast.

A knock sounded at the door and he growled in annoyance. He stood still for several seconds, hoping whoever stood outside his door would leave, but the knocking resumed with ferocity. Tom turned down the stove and stepped through the living room to answer the door.

He removed the chain and unbolted the door, before pulling it open. Chang's grumpy face met his own.

"What do you want? Where's Mary?" Tom asked.

"She's taking a bit of time off to see family. Doctor Ambrose wants to take a look at your motorcycle," Chang said. "We're a bit concerned about the creature grafted to it."

"You're not slicing it up in the name of science," Tom growled, feeling protective since the creature had saved his life.

"We have no intention of harming it," Chang said.

"Fine, but I need it to get me to work first," Tom said, wondering who could explain the orca-like motorcycle to the rest of the employees. The night before he'd been too tired to care what anyone thought about his new bike's odd appearance, but now it presented a problem.

"Fine," Chang said, evidently eager to end their conversation. Tom obliged him by slamming the door in his face.

Tom hurried back to his eggs and managed to avoid burning them too seriously. His toast couldn't be saved so he set two more slices of bread in the old toaster and prayed for a miracle.

Once finished with breakfast, he stepped out of his apartment. Chang was nowhere in sight, but Tom knew he would be watching. He walked slowly down the stairs and around to the front of the apartment building.

The Aqua Racer occupied the same spot his old bike used to. Tom halted as he saw the bike had returned to its original state. He glanced around expecting perhaps to find that the creature wandering around nearby. He knelt and examined the machine closely, but it looked exactly as it had when he first received it from SPOOK.

He stood up and mounted the bike. He didn't have time to wonder what happened to his unusual pet. Maybe he would try to find it after work.

Tom spotted Chang's white unmarked van quickly. He wondered why Chang didn't have a black BMW the car popular with most people in his profession. His vehicle looked like it could pass for a pool cleaner's van.

* * *

The masses began surging toward the pool and Tom immediately began scouring the crowd for Chang. He had little chance of spotting him in the massive throng though and he stopped trying after a few moments.

Instead, he watched behind him as he headed for the employee break area three hours later. He spotted the SPOOK agent wearing a blue t-shirt and matching swim trunks. A smirk spread across the lifeguard's face.

He entered the employee cafeteria and glanced around. Sandy was already there, eating a half-warm burger and cold fries. She waved at him. He returned the action half-heartedly and started down the line. After collecting and paying for his usual meal, Tom glanced around the room and spotted the person he was looking for.

"What's up, Troy?" Tom asked as he sat down across from the Sea Zone security officer.

"Not much," Troy replied, glancing away from his cheese steak sandwich to study Tom.

"I think someone's following me," Tom said.

"Oh, not again!" Troy groaned with a mouthful of food. "The last time I almost lost my job."

"Look, I'm sure this time," Tom said. He leaned towards Troy. "It's an Asian guy, wearing a blue t-shirt and trunks. We'll leave together and I'll point him out to you."

Troy sighed. "All right, I'll watch him and if he's still following you when your shift lets out, I'll take care of him."

"Thanks, Troy," Tom said.

Tom quickly pointed Chang out to his friend and the ambush was set.

* * *

Chang hated playing babysitter. He would request a change of assignment soon. Maybe he could join the Hounds.

Tom walked at a quick pace towards his motorcycle. Chang thought about losing him for a moment.

He didn't notice Troy until the muscular security officer stood in front of him. Chang tried to step around him, but a hand clamped onto his shoulder and pulled him back in front of Troy.

"There a reason you're following that boy?" Troy glared at him.

Chang caught sight of Tom sitting atop his motorcycle and smirking at the scene. He pulled his helmet on, started the engine, and rode off.

Tom roared down the highway, reveling in triumph. With any luck, this would put a stop to the agency shadowing his every move.

A green creature dropped out of a tree, transparent wings fluttering from its back to keep it airborne. It dived at Tom, its arm pulled back to swing its sharp finger at him. Tom gasped in surprise and pulled the Aqua Racer onto its side, leaning it back; the creature flew over top of him and missed.

He pulled the bike back up and glanced at the retreating insect. He pulled the Biobuckle out of his jacket and placed it against his waist. Vines reached out to hold the buckle in place.

Tom turned the bike around and sped off after the mantis. He took one hand off the bars and held up his pendant in it. "Henshin!" He pushed it into the buckle.

"Transform!"

Mist settled over Tom's speeding form then the halo of light moved down his body, forming his suit. When it hit his feet, the usual shockwave of energy shot out from the bike's tires.

The mantis flew off the side of a bridge. Tom dodged around an oncoming tractor-trailer and launched the Aqua Racer over the side of the bridge, praying the technological marvel could handle the fall. It hit the pavement with a loud thud, but kept moving.

The creature glanced back at him, buzzed incoherently and then turned to fly straight at him. Tom hit the brakes and the bike screeched to a stop. He leapt forward, letting the bike's momentum help carry him. He slammed a fist into one of the creature's oversized eyes.

It fell to the ground and rolled about for a moment, before getting up and folding its wings into its back. It raised its arms, brandishing its blades at Tom. The rider placed a hand on his hip and looked unimpressed.

Clicking angrily, the mantis charged forward and swung an arm at him. Tom raised his own arm and blocked, than threw a punch into the bug's chest. The insect stumbled back and Tom advanced, lashing out with a kick. The insect caught his foot with both hands. It tossed his leg to the side, unbalancing him and then struck with its blades, scouring a pair of cuts across his back.

Tom spun around foot coming up for a roundhouse kick to the side. The bug blocked and then tried for another slash, Tom avoided it by stepping back.

"You are unworthy of defeating Lord Loxodonta," the mantis buzzed.

"What?"

The insect leapt forward and scored a slash across Tom's chest armor. It raised its other arm for a second slash, but Tom blocked with the small fin on the back of his arm. The insect kneed him in the chest and he fell onto his back. The bug stepped around to Tom's side and raised an arm to strike at his head.

Bullets exploded against the insect's chitin and it stumbled back screeching. Tom gasped and rolled over, glancing up at the bridge. Chang stood on it, pistol aimed down at the mantis.

"How did you manage to stay alive this long by yourself?" Chang shouted.

"Very funny," Tom said as he got back to his feet and faced the mantis.

Turning, the mantis leapt into the air and spread its wings. Tom gasped and took a step forward, before spinning around and running back to the Aqua Racer. He pushed the bike up and jumped on, once again chasing after the mantis.

It looped around and flew back at him. Tom ducked under its blade. He glanced back and found it flying after him. He swerved to the side as it tried another flyby attack. Tom growled and gunned the engine as the bug pulled away.

How can I swat this insect?

A white glow emanated from his motorcycle and he looked down to find a black substance flowing out of the bike's inner workings. It covered the front of the bike and formed the distinct shape of an orca's head with fins jutting out below the handlebars. A long tail extended out behind the bike. The creature released an eerie wail.

"All right, let's go!" Tom exclaimed. Unfortunately, the bike didn't seem to go any faster with the creature making its presence known. Tom groaned as they fell even farther behind.

Then the front wheel rose off the ground and the orca creature sprayed a jet of water from its mouth. It struck the mantis and knocked it out of the air. It collided with the ground and rolled across it.

The dazed mantis slowly pushed itself up as the Orca Racer bore down on it. The motorcycle rammed into the insect and knocked it flying. A green fireball exploded out of it in midair and its brown husk hit the ground.

"Good boy," Tom said, patting the Orca Racer's head.

* * *

Author's Note: That's all for now. If anyone has a suggestion for a name for the creature residing in the Aqua Racer I'm open to suggestions.


End file.
